When the remaining half of Stonewatch Keep's fortress was finally crumbled by the artillery from Gnomeregan, the Blackrock Orcs stubbornly resisting inside became its burial companions.
Stormwind had no intention of engaging the Blackrock Orcs in a siege; they directly unleashed half of their ammunition on Stonewatch Keep, almost leveling the entire fortress.
With the addition of Arcane magic's bombardment, the once towering Stonewatch Keep watchtowers, city walls, and the fortress that had stood firm even during the Orc invasion, were almost all razed to the ground.
Even the high ground where the entire Stonewatch Keep fortress was located seemed to have been lowered a bit by Stormwind's artillery and magic, Bolvar wasn't sure if it was an illusion.
"This new batch of artillery from Gnomeregan truly has formidable firepower… if it weren't for the inability to solve the problem of rapid movement, it could even be used for skirmishes on the plains."
Marshal Maxwell, who had been promoted to General for his military achievements in the war against the Burning Legion, looked at the completely collapsed Stonewatch Keep fortress, feeling a bit emotional.
"While weapons are important, we still have to rely on the quality of the army itself; if these orcs had any escape routes, our progress would never have been this smooth," Bolvar corrected Marshal Maxwell's view.
It was important to note that for this ambush and siege, Stormwind had deployed well in advance, and even the artillery had been urgently transported via the subway between Ironforge and Stormwind.
The power of this new weapon did not disappoint Bolvar, but it was not omnipotent; although Stonewatch Keep was easy to defend and difficult to attack, it had a fatal flaw.
Both sides of the high ground where Stonewatch Keep fortress was located were cliffs, and beneath the rugged cliffs lay the Stonewatch Lake; there were only two ways to enter Stonewatch Keep fortress.
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The stone bridge at the rear of the fortress had been blown up by Stormwind's forces before the battle even began, and the only remaining path down the mountain was also blocked by Stormwind's forces, forcing the Blackrock Orcs to endure Stormwind's wrath within Stonewatch Keep fortress.
They had also organized personnel to try and break through the Alliance's lines, but before they even reached the watchtower halfway up the mountain, they were brutally battered by artillery and magic, directly forcing them back into Stonewatch Keep.
The result was that Stormwind eliminated the orcs stationed in Stonewatch Keep with little effort, greatly alleviating the pressure on the Stormwind Kingdom's homeland.
Of course, the remnants of the orcs had not yet been completely wiped out, as some small Orc units had fled into the deep mountains of the Redridge Mountains before being encircled by humans.
The Redridge Mountains terrain is complex, full of caves and valleys, and there are many Gnoll and wild beasts; although those orcs fled at great risk, it was better than waiting for death in Stonewatch Keep.
However, this also prevented the Stormwind Kingdom's forces from pursuing them; after chasing down some straggling orcs as much as possible, Stormwind's main force could only watch as the orcs fled into the deep mountains of the Redridge Mountains.
Perhaps they could spend a few weeks making their way out of the mountains and back to the Burning Steppes occupied by the Blackrock Orcs, but by then the situation would have long stabilized, and they wouldn't even be able to send intelligence.
Bolvar naturally no longer paid attention to the fleeing orcs; it had taken them over half a day to completely flatten Stonewatch Keep fortress, and the longer they delayed, the greater the pressure and risk on Marshal Maxwell's side.
"Marshal Maxwell, take a portion of the men to clean up the remnants of Stonewatch Keep; remember to send those Blackrock scum who aren't completely dead to hell."
Marshal Maxwell saluted Bolvar solemnly, "As you wish, Grand Duke."
Bolvar himself, with the rest of the main force, quickly headed to the pass between the Redridge Mountains and the Burning Steppes.
…
"Marshal, they haven't made a move."
The soldier observing the Orc front-line camp with a telescope from the outpost reported, "They seem to have chosen to set up camp."
"Don't be complacent, Corporal Lal, the Blackrock Orcs are not fools; this might just be a smokescreen they're putting out."
Marshal Maxwell picked up another telescope and began to gaze at the Orc forces in his sight, "Corporal, do you see them… sure enough, they are Black Wyrms; they are among the Orc forces."
"Yes, Marshal, and since this morning, the number of Wyrms in their camp has been continuously increasing."
"Continuously increasing… that's not good news," Marshal Maxwell put down his telescope and muttered to himself.
It seemed the Blackrock Orcs had realized something was amiss and were probing Marshal Maxwell; the increased Black Wyrm soldiers were meant to put pressure on him.
Red was also currently at the Orc's front-line position, peering towards Stormwind's outpost with a telescope he had snatched from the Goblins.
"It's been almost a whole day, and they still haven't chosen to attack proactively. Hmph, they're truly a bunch of cowards." Red snorted, although the defeat of the vanguard had made him somewhat embarrassed, the fact that the humans were now cowering and not coming out only indicated that the other side had no intention of clashing head-on with them.
"Have you made contact with that fellow Gazlowe?"
Red asked his Warlock advisor about the situation at Stonewatch Keep fortress.
The Warlock advisor shook his head, "The Shadow Orb can't reach them either; communication between Stonewatch Keep and us has been cut off."
"Cunning Alliance dogs." Red narrowed his eyes; he had already realized this was a ploy by Stormwind, cutting off communication between the main Blackrock Orc force and Stonewatch Keep fortress, so neither side knew what was happening to the other.
Now, Stormwind could be besieging Stonewatch Keep, and the forces blocking the Blackrock Orcs here might just be a small detachment of theirs, because the Wolf Riders' vanguard was defeated too quickly, and the enemy's attacks came from all directions, so the fleeing Wolf Riders had no idea of the enemy's exact numbers.
But there was another possibility: Stormwind had not attacked Stonewatch Keep but merely surrounded it, and the forces led by Marshal Maxwell were their main strength, hidden on both sides of the pass, preparing to ambush the Blackrock Orcs.
Red naturally chose not to be a hothead, because Stonewatch Keep fortress was not actually critical; even if it were captured by the Alliance, it would only be an insignificant loss of troops, and it could also weaken the Alliance's effective strength.
That fellow Gazlowe might just be a brute, but letting him use the fortifications of Stonewatch Keep to wear down the Alliance's strength shouldn't be a problem.
Red himself was unwilling to use the elite troops Nefarian had given him to test Stormwind's traps; although staying put here might delay the opportune moment, it also avoided severe losses for the Blackrock Orcs.
Moreover, Red was not entirely inactive; at the same time he ordered his troops to halt, he immediately dispatched Dragon Riders to fly over the Redridge Mountains to visually scout the situation at Stonewatch Keep.
In the vast Redridge Mountains, Dragon Riders only needed to take a slight detour, spending a little more time, to bypass all of Stormwind's eyes and obtain reliable information.
Judging by the time, it should be about time for the Dragon Riders to return…
"Roar!"
A high-pitched dragon roar descended from the sky, and a multi-colored Wyrmling carrying a Blackrock Orc descended; the Orc scout hastily dismounted before the Wyrmling had fully landed.
"Warchief, the Alliance dogs have taken Stonewatch Keep! I saw it, their main force is besieging Stonewatch Keep, and the forces blocking the pass are very few!"
Already taken?
Red frowned, not expecting Stormwind to act so quickly, resolving the Blackrock Orcs in Stonewatch Keep in just over half a day, but it no longer mattered; the Blackrock Orcs would immediately cross the Burning Steppes and ensure Stormwind's forces would not return!
"Sound the horn, beat the war drums, full army advance!"
The roar of the Blackrock Warchief quickly spread throughout the Blackrock Orc army through the actions of various heralds; all Orc soldiers immediately sprang into action, and the overwhelming military formation began to rapidly surge towards the Redridge Mountains.
Corporal Lal, noticing the orcs' movements, immediately threw down the telescope in his hand and ran down the watchtower at his fastest speed, rushing into Marshal Maxwell's tent.
"Marshal, it's bad! The orcs have started to advance! They're moving very fast and will impact the Redridge Mountains pass soon!"
"They really do have another intelligence channel…" Marshal Maxwell's heart sank, but fortunately, he had anticipated this situation; Bolvar had already sent him a message that Stormwind's forces were on their way, asking him to hold out for a period of time at all costs.
Whether they could hold the pass blocking the orcs' path was a crucial question; as long as they could keep the orcs outside this pass, then the subsequent Stormwind Legion could quickly reinforce them, making it much easier to withstand the orcs' attack.
But if they lost this last pass before Stormwind's forces arrived…
Marshal Maxwell couldn't even imagine such a scenario, thinking that the main Stormwind force, which was supposed to be supporting the defenders, would suddenly be ambushed by orcs and Black Wyrms, and in their haste, a large number of soldiers would likely perish instantly.
"My command: conceal the bombs we brought. Hold back the Blackrock Orcs' advance at all costs! For the Alliance! For King Wrynn!"
"Yes, Marshal!"
With Marshal Maxwell's command, Stormwind's special operations team reacted quickly; in a very short time, they prepared all defensive measures for the pass.
In the narrow canyon between the Burning Steppes and the Redridge Mountains, hundreds of soldiers, facing death, looked towards the Burning Steppes, knowing what a cruel battlefield awaited them.
But they had no room to retreat; behind them were their comrades, their loved ones, their homes!
Marshal Maxwell, clad in heavy armor and wielding a greatsword, stood at the very front of the formation; he was ready to lead by example, and even if he died, he would use his sword to cut off a few more Blackrock scoundrels' heads.
He had already given orders in advance: if he fell in battle, his adjutant would take over the command of the battlefield; if the adjutant fell, a junior officer would take over, and so on, until the last soldier of the special operations unit fell, the battle would not cease.
In fact, everyone knew that in such a resolute defensive battle, the role of command had greatly diminished, because their objective was very unified, and there was only one: hold the position, and do not allow a single step back until their main force arrived!
These hundreds of warriors were elites selected from various Stormwind legions; they possessed sufficiently strong will and ability to face the bloody challenge ahead.
When the Blackrock Orcs' banners appeared in Marshal Maxwell's sight, Marshal Maxwell took a deep breath, then raised his arm and shouted, "Brothers and sisters, comrades of Stormwind, today, with the swords in our hands, we will protect everything we hold dear! For the Alliance!"
"For the Alliance!" A thunderous roar, like mountains and seas, echoed the Marshal's words, and the clanging of swords and shields reverberated through the canyon.
The dull sound of the orcs' war wolves running was growing louder, and their savage and frenzied battle roars had already reached their ears, but everyone's gaze was firm, without the slightest waver.
A bloody battle was imminent.
…
"Those filthy orcs are finally out of our castle!" In the lower levels of Blackrock Mountain, Marshal Angor shouted, "And our arrogant distant relatives, they bring their self-righteous allies, constantly challenging our bottom line. Today, we will defend the honor of the Dark Iron Dwarves with blood! For Emperor Thaurissan! For Ragnaros the Firelord!"
"For Emperor Thaurissan! For Ragnaros the Firelord!"
A tide of Dark Iron Dwarves surged out of Darkforge City's gates, fiercely assaulting the Blackrock Orcs' defensive fortifications from below Blackrock Mountain; due to a large portion of their forces being drawn away to attack Stormwind, the remaining Blackrock Orcs could only struggle to resist the Dark Iron Dwarves' attack.
The complex terrain within Blackrock Mountain meant that only a small portion of the forces could exert their full combat power; too many numbers would hinder the attack. The Dark Iron Dwarves, who knew their city like the back of their hand, decisively split their forces into two routes: one to suppress the Blackrock Orcs to prevent them from ambushing the army's rear.
The other transformed into a steel torrent, pushing open the tightly shut gates of Blackrock Mountain, preparing to charge the Alliance forces down the mountain.
However, as soon as the heavy gate connecting Blackrock Mountain to the Searing Gorge was opened, the first Black Iron Dwarf hadn't even clearly seen the outside world before he was sent to the Shadowlands by an incoming cannonball.
Perhaps there, he could also shout for the glory of Thaurissan and Ragnaros the Firelord.
After exiting the gate, the Dark Iron Dwarves were stunned by the Alliance's storm-like artillery fire. After suffering heavy casualties, they could only retreat back into Blackrock Mountain in disgrace.
"Artillery ready, fire!"
The Alliance showed no hesitation in expending shells; after all, Ironforge and Gnomeregan were right behind them, plus the resources from the newly occupied Great Forge, so there was no need to worry about ordnance reserves.
The new artillery quickly demonstrated its superiority in firepower and range, and next to the artillery units, there was also a group of engineers from Gnomeregan recording various parameters of the artillery; these were valuable experimental data, and also directions for future artillery improvements.
"These idiots, do they really think we'll engage them in a melee?" Thoras looked at the fleeing vanguard of the Dark Iron Dwarves with some disdain. The Dark Iron Dwarves also possessed advanced war technology, but now they were foolishly rushing out of Blackrock Mountain?
Did they really think the Alliance was just setting up camp and doing nothing else? Currently, there were no less than a hundred cannons aimed at Blackrock Mountain's gate; if it weren't for the fear of collapsing the mountain, the Alliance's firepower could be further increased.
As for where the Alliance got so many cannons, don't ask; if you ask, it's simply the production lines in the mostly intact Gnomeregan; mass-producing such weapons was child's play.
In fact, the Dark Iron Dwarves were also quite wronged; they indeed possessed a series of war technologies like artillery and war golems, but after being driven out of Hordemar City by the Blackrock Orcs, transporting these heavy weapons from Darkforge City became very troublesome, which is why they sent a vanguard, preparing to assault the Alliance's formation, and then follow up with heavy firepower.
As a result, this slight aggressive timing led to them being bombarded by Alliance artillery before they even left Blackrock Mountain; the deafening roars and explosions made many Dark Iron Dwarves feel dizzy.